Nautilus Data – Alameda Point Environmental Report

Open Letter to Mr. James Connaughton
Chief Executive Officer
Nautilus Data Technologies

Dear Mr. Connaughton,

The Alameda City Council has granted you approval of moving forward with your data storage facility at Alameda Point. Please reconsider the route for discharging warm water from the cooling system. Instead of heading south under the Bay Trail and through the harbor near the ferry maintenance facility, send the water discharge pipe north to the Oakland Estuary.

As someone who was instrumental in protecting large tracts of the Pacific Ocean during your tenure as environmental advisor to President George W. Bush, I believe the alternative route will appeal to your marine conservation values. Continue reading “10 reasons why data center should change water cooling pipe location”

Nautilus Data Technologies is proposing to convert Building 530, located at 120 West Oriskany Avenue at Alameda Point, into a data storage facility. The facility would draw 10,000 gallons of water a minute from underneath Pier 2 in order to cool the racks of computer servers. The warmer water, about 4 degrees warmer, would be discharged into San Francisco Bay. Water cooling is a cheaper alternative than traditional air conditioning.

The proposal will be voted on at the May 7 city council meeting.

Here are some points made in the city staff report in support of the proposal, followed by reasons why this proposal does not deserve support.

Point: The city staff report claims that the facility will be environmentally friendly because water cooling will use less electricity for cooling than traditional air conditioning.

Counterpoint: Starting in 2020, all of Alameda Municipal Power (AMP) electricity will be carbon free, producing zero greenhouse gas. Reducing electrical usage in Alameda is not an environmental benefit, only a cost-saving benefit to the business. Continue reading “Water-cooled data center proposal . . . not so cool”